The therapeutic value of a Park

by Ludovica Schiaroli

We meet Patrizio Scarpellini, Director of the Cinque Terre National Park, on the occasion of the prestigious “Cinque Vele” award, granted by Legambiente and the Touring Club Italiano to the Cinque Terre area for the cleanliness of its coastline and sea.

Together with Scarpellini, the mayors of Riomaggiore, Vernazza, Corniglia, and Monterosso—Fabrizia Pecunia, Francesco Villa, and Emanuele Moggia—were also present to receive the award.

“It is a recognition of the work carried out by institutions and all economic activities operating in the area,” Scarpellini explains with satisfaction. “Starting with agricultural businesses, which, through their work, restore terraces and effectively act as guardians of the territory. It is also a recognition of the value of our landscape.”

A landscape that is particularly close to the Director’s heart, and one that has seen him engaged for over a year in the European LIFE project Stonewallsforlife. The project aims to restore approximately six hectares of dry stone walls in the Manarola amphitheatre, improving agricultural production, preserving the territory, and increasing resilience to flooding.

Despite some delays due to the COVID-19 emergency, the work is progressing: “Researchers from the University of Genoa have completed field surveys, and we are now identifying the training body that will organize the courses, allowing us to enter the operational phase of the project,” Scarpellini explains.

Among the most interesting and innovative aspects of Stonewallsforlife is its ability to combine environmental care with social solidarity. Over the five-year duration of the project (2019–2024), training courses on dry stone wall construction techniques are planned for around forty participants, including unemployed individuals and migrants, who will later have the opportunity to find employment in the area.

“Everything is ready—we have already purchased personal protective equipment and the tools needed for maintenance work on the walls, and we expect to schedule the courses for next autumn,” adds Emanuele Raso, the geologist who contributed to drafting the project and now coordinates it on behalf of the Cinque Terre National Park.

From the sea, as guests aboard Legambiente’s Goletta Verde, the challenges faced by this territory—carved between sky and sea—are clearly visible.

“It is a fragile landscape that must be preserved also for its therapeutic value,” Scarpellini adds. “Today, people come here seeking to walk, to reconnect with nature. We see this award as a moment of renewal, because after the COVID-19 emergency, the way we think has changed.”

“It is not enough to return to how things were before,” he concludes. “We must do better. And this means improving above all the relationship between land and sea: the land must respect the sea, and institutions must play an active role in this process.”